Cleveland announced it has selected the historic ArtCraft building as the location for its new police headquarters. The project is estimated to wrap up in 2025 and will house all of the Cleveland Division of Police.
Located on Superior Avenue in the former garment district, the 250,000 square foot building was selected out of six proposals submitted in October.
“This site presents the best combination of location, timing, functionality, and cost while meeting the needs of our Division of Police,” Mayor Justin Bibb said in a statement.
The city said the building can be transformed into the new headquarters while staying within the existing budget and will cost $40 million less than the plan to build the headquarters on Opportunity Corridor. The project is also projected to wrap up 18 to 24 months faster than the Opportunity Corridor site would, which will save money not spent on future lease payments at the Justice Center.
The city has already been spent $9 million on design, engineering and consulting costs for the Opportunity Corridor site but said the work studying space and design needs can be translated to the new site.
The city said both the Opportunity Corridor site and the former Third District building, which still houses some specialized departments including narcotics, the gang unit and SWAT, are now free for other revenue generating development projects.
“This decision opens up an incredibly valuable site for future development and job creation," Chief of Integrated Development Jeff Epstein said in a statement.
The city said the renovation process will be a gut rehab renovation, including new building systems, roof, parking garage and floorplan.
In a statement, Police Chief Wayne Drummond said he's excited about the ArtCraft building site.
“This new location will benefit our future direction tremendously, allowing us to not only move into our permanent home sooner, but also increase efficiency by having all HQ functions under one roof," Drummond said.
Under former Mayor Frank Jackson, the city had broken ground on the project at the Opportunity Corridor site at the end of 2021. Construction was expected to begin in 2022 and finish in 2026 but was halted when Bibb took office, backing away from the plan and seeking new requests for proposals for the project.
Artists have long worked in the building, and portrait photographer James Douglas said he has mixed feelings about moving even though artists are used to having to do that.
“Each time that commercial real estate caught up to artists and rents started to rise, everybody [headed] out one exit on the highway,” he said. “So, we are at the Superior Ave. exit on I-90. If you go out one more exit, [that'll] probably be the next area we'll go."
Douglas said the building needs major repairs, and the investment will be good for the neighborhood.
“I think they shut the personal elevator down a year and a half ago,” he said. “And you take your life in your hands in the freight elevator. If the wind is blowing hard enough, you can hear it whistling through the walls."
Before the city can move ahead, council will have to approve the purchase of the building.
One key member of council, Safety Committee Chairman Mike Polensek, has questions about the suitability of the site.
"It’s right on Superior," Polensek said during a council meeting the day after the city's announcement. "I don’t know how you quote unquote harden this building, I mean, it’s right on the street. The amenities. We’re going to have to create parking for this building.”
During a safety committee meeting today {Wednesday} Polensek said he’d like a tour of the site with officials from the mayor’s office and the former Plain Dealer building or an empty, city-owned lot on Lakeside Avenue were his preferred sites.
The city expects to have legislation in front of city council by January.
